Holy Church of Grand Brigadier Michael – Gabriel

The holy temple of the Taxiarches in Drama is of intense and priceless interest, as it has a rich historical reality from the Byzantine years. The Temple is located in the center of the city on Venizelou Street and is a typical example of sculpture, architecture and painting of the Byzantine period.

The temple dates back to the 14th century, the architecture, sculpture and painting strongly bear witness to the signs of the ancient period. The temple of Taxiarches is located very close to the north-eastern side of the Byzantine city wall, with which it is connected by an ascending staircase. It is a small and unnecessary monument, which attracts the interest of the visitor with its masonry and its remarkable mural decoration. The demolition of the portico in 1973 revealed the antiquity of the building and led to the restoration of its original form, thus enriching the city of Drama with yet another Byzantine monument. It is a one-room temple, originally vaulted, but today with a wooden roof. The church today has the shape of a rectangular basilica with dimensions of 7×3.45 meters. The walls consist of stones with plinths. Frescoes were revealed on the southern and eastern interior walls, depicting the cycle of Christ’s passions. They are characterized by freedom and spontaneity, conquests of painting that belong to the era of the Paleologues. The marble iconostasis is noteworthy. The temple has undergone several reconstructions (1861-1892). However, the mural decoration remains intact. There are also stone murals in the temple. From the temple of Agia Sophia there was an underground gallery that led to Agia Varvara and reached up to Taxiarches. On the south side of the church, the modernist bell tower was demolished. Subsequently, a bell tower adapted to the new environment was built on the southwest side of the courtyard.